Signs of Cocaine Use

At first, signs of cocaine use go unnoticed because they are subtle and hard to identify. As cocaine abuse escalates, the user's signs of cocaine use become more apparent and are easier to detect. For occasional users, the signs of cocaine use start as a nosebleed or increased heart rate. However with continual use, symptoms such as cardiac arrest and severe health problems may occur. Cocaine abuse and addiction can lead to hospitalization and death.

A cocaine user can take cocaine several different ways. It can be absorbed through the skin after it is rubbed on mucous tissues. It can be inhaled by smoking, which includes crack. It can be injected into the vein, which is called mainlining. It can be taken intranasally, which is the most common means of cocaine consumption. Intranasally means snorting the cocaine through the nose. Lastly, it can also be taken orally, which is called chewing.

Cocaine use affects every part of the user from the way they think, act and feel. A major effect of cocaine on human behavior is its ability to change a person's moods. The user's desire to feel this effect again is what makes cocaine a drug of abuse. Research shows that cocaine produces a feeling of euphoria, or intense well-being. People feel more energetic and friendly when on cocaine. These effects occur whether a person inhales, injects or smokes cocaine.

A person who takes cocaine repeatedly will develop tolerance to many of its behavioral effects. When the original dose no longer has much of an effect, the user must take increasingly larger amounts of cocaine to achieve the high. These larger doses present greater risks to the user's heart and blood vessels.

Users of cocaine and other stimulant drugs claim that the drug improves their performance of many activities. No evidence exists to support this claim. In general, cocaine has little effect on performance except when a person is unable to perform up to usual standards because of fatigue. In this situation, cocaine can enable the person to perform as if he or she were not tired. But this effect lasts for only a short time.

An individual who is becoming addicted to cocaine will begin to show more and more signs of cocaine use. One sign that an individual has a cocaine abuse problem is when they begin to focus more and more of their energy on acquiring and using cocaine. One extremely detrimental cocaine abuse symptom is obsession or craving. Once a person has become addicted to cocaine, their mind and body have an obsession with the drug that is curbed only when the drug is found and used.

Cocaine addiction can take hold of an user in less than 2 weeks. Some research indicates that a psychological dependency may develop after a single dose of high-potency cocaine. As the person develops a tolerance to cocaine, higher and higher doses are needed to produce the same level of euphoria.

Common signs of cocaine use include:

altered motor activities (tremors, hyperactivity)

anxiety

bloody nose

confusion

dilated pupils

hallucinations

increased energy

panic

paranoia

rapid pulse and breathing

stuffiness and runny nose

talking rapidly

tin foil, rolled up money (into a tube shape), straws (sometimes cut in half or at an angle)

Let’s look at some additional signs of cocaine use that are often displayed by the addict. The first sign is lack of money. You would be surprised, no shocked, at how expensive cocaine can be if you are addicted to it. An addict can spend a few hundred dollars in a single night easily. So, if a person is using cocaine a lot then they will begin to run short of money. Signs of this include having to borrow money from friends and family for food or gas. Coming up short for rent, bills, etc and also getting caught stealing money from friends and family.

Another one of the signs of cocaine use is weight loss. Crack addicts as well as powder cocaine addicts have trouble keeping a healthy weight. This is because cocaine is a stimulant that suppresses appetite. When a person is using cocaine they can go more than a day without getting hungry. Naturally this causes the cocaine addict to lose weight.

Finally, a person who is using cocaine will often lie and not come home when they said they would. Because cocaine is a stimulant, cocaine users sleep funny hours and stay up all hours of the night. A person might be expected home at 10 pm and not come home until 4 am. This is one of the more common signs of cocaine use.

First Name:

Last Name:

Age:

Gender:

State:

City:

Phone:

Email:

Describe the situation:

Cocaine Facts

Cocaine is bad for the heart. Cocaine increases heart rate and blood pressure while constricting the arteries supplying blood to the heart. The result can be a heart attack, even in young people without heart disease. Cocaine can also trigger a deadly abnormal heart rhythm called arrhythmia, killing instantly.

Cocaine is derived from the coca plant (Erythroxylon coca) native to South America which can taken in a variety of ways - sniffed or snorted, inhaled, smoked, injected or even chewed in the form of coca leaves. The type of cocaine most commonly used in the UK is the white crystalline powder called cocaine hydrochloride which is often pure cocaine adulterated with fillers such as flour, baking soda, sugars such as glucose or creatine, talcum powder or other local anaesthetics such as lidocaine. It is usually sold in vials or in wraps or packets made from paper, plastic or aluminium foil.

Cocaine is extracted from the leaves of the plant and distributed in two ways; the salt form of cocaine hydrochloride and the base form of either crack or what is called “free base.” Free base is made through a process using ether, which is dangerous in itself because of its highly volatile and flammable nature. Crack is similar to free base, but is not as refined, pure, or filtered, eliminating the necessity for ether, and enabling dealers to double their profit with the requirement of using ammonia or baking soda.

Cocaine is highly addictive and one of the most rapidly addictive drugs used. It has been smuggled into the United States by criminal enterprises for over 100 years. As a person becomes addicted more of the drug is needed more often to achieve the same results. But even first time users can become addicted, because the drug is that powerful. The craving for the drug can come after the first hit of a crack pipe, or the first snort.

Cocaine is highly addictive. This addiction can begin almost immediately following the first use. Most users’ addiction to cocaine is very strong; therefore withdrawal symptoms are likely to occur when a person is not using the drug.

Cocaine is highly addictive. With just one use a person can develop an overwhelming urge to use cocaine again and again. Cocaine users report that they are never able to achieve the "high" they felt the first time they used the drug. This is because a tolerance to the cocaine’s effects develops and lessens their euphoric feelings. After time, their “high” is not as intense and does not last as long.

Cocaine is most commonly ‘snorted’ or ‘sniffed’ in the Western world, a process properly known as insufflation, whereby cocaine is absorbed through the mucous membranes of the nasal passages. Any cocaine not directly absorbed is trapped in the mucous and swallowed easily because this form of cocaine is highly water-soluble.